Holder for balls and spools of strand material.



J. H. BOYE.

HOLDER FOR BALLS AND SPOOLS 0F STRAND MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.17, 1914.

Patented Mar.2,1915.

UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. BOYE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BOYE NEEDLE COMPANY, OF RAVENSWOOD PARK STATION, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

HOLDER FOR BALLS AND SPOOLS OF STRAND MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

Application filed August 17, 1914. Serial No. 857,175.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES H. Born, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Holders for Balls and Spools of Strand Materials, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of devices used for suspending balls or spools of yarn, thread, cord, twine, and the like, in convenient position for paying 0d the strand to the point of use.

The use for which devices of the kind referred to are more particularly intended is that of suspending the ball or spool flexibly and rotatably from an arm of a person occupied in knitting, crocheting, tatting, and the like work; and it is for that class of work that the present improvement has been devised, though it is adaptable with advantage to other uses, including the use for holding balled cord or twineto be paid out. in tying packages. v

Devices inthe class to which my improvement relates involve, each, as its generally stated construction, so far as the state of the art is knownto me',"ahoop to surround an arm of the user, a stem loosely hung on the hoop and adapted to pass throughthebore of a strand-wound spool, and a stop fixed on, applicable to or adjustable on the lower end of the stem to retain a spool thereon. None of these devices, however, has its stemfeature adapted to pierce readily or unobstructively through a solidly wound ball of yarn, thread, or the like, nor, infact, through any. but abore-containing spool, core or ball wouiid with such material. The more important objects. of the-present improvement are to provide a construction of stop-equipped stem which shall adapt it to readily pierce through a solid ball of the wound material as well as through a borecontaining'ball or spool thereof; to cause the piercing end or point of the stem to afford a swivel-joint with a keeperfor flexible suspension on the arm-hoop, and enable the connection of the stem with and its disconnection from the keeper to be performed with extreme facility; to afford an improved construction of the hoop, whereby its application to and withdrawal from the arm of the user, and the matter of adjusting the aforesaid keeper on and taking it oil the hoop shall be greatly facilitated; and to provide a generally improved and simplified construction of holder in the class referred to.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 IS a perspective view showing my improvement suspended on an arm of a user of the device Fig. 2 shows the device in elevation; Fig. 3 is a broken view in elevation showing the keeper connected with the hoop and the swivel-connection with the keeper of the penetrat ngstem-end; Fig. 4 is a section on line 1:, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view like that presented in Fig. 3, illustrating one way of insertingthe penetrating stem-point into and separating it from the kceper;.Fig. 6 is a view similar to that presented in Fig. 4:, but illustrating another way of connecting and disconnecting the stem and keeper, and Fig. 7 is a bottom-end view of the keeper.

The hoop 8 is preferably formed of spring wire with its ends spaced apart and blunted by eyes formed thereon to facilitate applying the hoop to the arm of a user and its removal by pulling it off. Near one end of the hoop it contains a spring loop 9 for the purpose hereinafter explained. The keeper 10, as preferably constructed, is a strip of transversely curved spring metal bent upon itself midway between its ends to form an open sided loop widening toward its upper, closed end and narrowing toward its opposite end, at one side of which the adjacent parts of the legs of the keeper meet, as shown at 10 in Fig. 7. The edges of these legs are cut away along the opposite narrow side of the keeper to widen the space between them toward the closed end of the loop, this space being relatively narrow toward the lower loop-end. where it merges into a transversely-extending end-slot 10 terminating in a central insertion opening 10 somewhat wider than that slot. The

stem 11 is formed near one end with a tapering neck 11 and a tapering spear-like point 12 extending from its junction with the neck, which should be convexly rounded,-as shown at 12*, to adapt the point to exert in withdrawing it from the keeper'the wedging effect hereinafter explained. The stem is provided on its opposite end with a stop 13, shown in its preferred button-like form and which may be permanently fastened in place.

To assemble the parts, the keeper s applied over an end of the hoop and introduced into the loop 9, by springing the latter to open its mouth, through which the keeper may be as readily Withdrawn in the same manner to disconnect it from the hoop; and the stem is connected with the keeper by introducing into the latter the point 12. Th s introduction may be effected, as indicated in Fig. 5, by forcing the point through the opening 10, thereby wedging apart the keeper-legs, which spring back into place, when the point has been thus fully inserted, to hug about the neck 11 and there form a swivel-connection between the keeper and.

stem which greatly facilitates the use of the device as hereinafter described. The gunction at 12, which affords a shoulder for seating the stem atits penetrating point in the keeper, enables the stem to be readily separated therefrom by pulling to cause the shoulder to wedge apart the keeper-legs. Another way, indicated in Fig. 6, to eii'ect this connection, is by inserting the point inclinedly through the keeper at the wider part of its loop and then drawing the neck through the lower narrower portion of the space between the keeper-legs and through the slot 10" into the opening 10; and to remove the stem from the keeper this operation may be reversed.

As will be understood, the more usual purpose for separating the stem and keeper is for applying to the former a fresh ball 14 of yarn, or the like, or for removing therefrom an exhausted spool and replacing it with a fresh one. To apply a ball 14- to the stem, the latter is passed point-first centrally through it and thus easily penetrates it to hold it at the stop 13 on the stem. The stem penetrates with the same facility any ball of strand-material not provided with an unobstructed opening through it; and it also, of course, may be introduced through the bore of a wound spool, or the like, as readily as may any of the stems of the prior art, referred to. WVith. a ball 14, or the like, thus on the stem and the latter connected, as described, with the keeper hung on the hoop and the latter encircling the arm of a user, the work of paying ofl the yarn or other material in knitting, crocheting, or analogous occupation, is performed with the utmost facility, by reason of the flexible suspension of the ball or spool on the arm-encircling hoop and the swivel-connection of the stem and keeper.

I realize that considerable variation is What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a holder of the character described, the combination of a spring arm-hoop having spaced ends, a keeper flexibly connected with the hoop, and a pivoted stop-equipped stem having a separable swivel-connection at its point with the keeper.

2. In a holder of the character described, the combination of a spring arm-hoop containing a loop, a keeper flexibly hung in said loop, and a pointed stop-equipped stem having a separable swivel-connection at its point with the keeper.

3. In a holder of the character described, the combination of a spring-wire arm-hoop having spaced blunted ends and containing a loop, a keeper flexibly hung in said loop, and a pointed stop-equipped stem having a separable swivel-connection-at its point with the keeper.

4. In a holder of the character described, the combination of a keeper comprising loop-forming spring legs forming an insertion-opening between their lower contiguous ends, and a stem provided on one end with a stop, tapered into a neck toward its opposite end and having a penetrating point extending from the neck forming a wedging seating shoulder at its junction with the latter for supporting the stem in the keeper with the neck in said opening forming a swivelconnection of the stem with the keeper.

5. In a holder of the character described, the combination of a keeper comprising legs forming an open-sided loop and an opening between their lower contiguous ends, the opening in one side of the loop being wider toward the closed upper end than toward the opposite end of the keeper, and a stem provided on one end with a stop, tapered into a neck toward its opposite end and havwhich it is flexibly suspended in said hooploop, and an opening in their contiguous lower ends, and a stem provided on one end with a stop, tapered into a neck toward its opposite end and having a penetrating point extending from the neck forming a seating shoulder at its junction with the latter for sup orting the stem in the keeper with the nec in said opening forming a swivel-con- .nection of the stem with the kee er.

. BOYE. 

